Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

द्वादशाब्दं च तस्यायुरित्युक्त्वाथ विमृश्य च । पुनर्लेख्यगतं प्राह स वर्षायुतजीवितम्

Transliteration

dvādaśābdaṃ ca tasyāyurityuktvātha vimṛśya ca | punarlekhyagataṃ prāha sa varṣāyutajīvitam

Translation

اس نے کہا، “اس کی عمر بارہ برس ہے”، پھر دوبارہ غور کیا؛ اور تحریری ریکارڈ کو پھر دیکھ کر اعلان کیا، “یہ دس ہزار برس جئے گا۔”

Word by Word

• dvādaśa-abdam: twelve years
• dvādaśa-abdam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + abda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (संख्यापूर्वकः)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• āyuḥ: lifespan
• āyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘उक्त्वा’ = having said

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• vimṛśya: having considered
• vimṛśya: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive), उपसर्ग ‘वि-’; ‘विमृश्य’ = having reflected/considered

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• punar: again
• punar: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/पुनरावृत्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (again)

• lekhya-gatam: (what was) written/entered in the record
• lekhya-gatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lekhya (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (गम्-धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘लेख्यं गतम्’ = writing/document reached (i.e., written/entered in writing)

• prāha: said
• prāha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• varṣa-āyuta-jīvitam: a lifespan of ten thousand years
• varṣa-āyuta-jīvitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + āyuta (प्रातिपदिक) + jīvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषार्थः—‘आयुतं वर्षाणां’ (ten-thousand years) इति; ‘जīvitam’ = lifespan

Speaker

Contextually: a divine adjudicator/record-reader (linked with Yama’s administration in the surrounding verses)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpa) and/or Śaiva assembly (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage/record-keeper re-checks a palm-leaf register of destiny; the written ‘twelve years’ is reconsidered and replaced with ‘ten thousand years,’ suggesting a cosmic correction under Śaiva influence.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Mṛtyu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rudra-centered merit can overturn fearful destinies; divine grace can transform even a short lifespan into long life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the emphasis is on Rudra-japa/adhyāya as a liberating power.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, devotion to Rudra through japa/adhyāya-recitation is the cause behind the altered decree.